Step inside the mystique of abandoned and forgotten places
Apr. 15—All across New England, there are decaying remnants of homesteads, barns, motels, theme parks and train depots — places that once teemed with life but now twist at broken angles or disappear into a landscape of weeds.
The sense of time both standing still and slipping away has always intrigued Vermont photographer and author Marie Desrosiers, whose new book, "Abandoned Vermont and New Hampshire: Forgotten in the Mountains," documents what may be the final hour for many sites.
In the Granite State, Desrosiers scoured the White Mountains and farther north into Pittsburg to explore the mystique surrounding such properties.
"I very frequently think about the fact that despite people eventually moving on ... nature doesn't forget," she says in the introduction to her book. "It creeps in through the doors falling off their hinges, the broken dirty windows, the cracks and holes in the floorboards, and it reclaims the spaces that belonged to it in the first place."
Desrosiers grew up in Massachusetts, where she, her brother and father would explore nearby 1850s summer cottages that had fallen out of fashion and into disrepair. When she got her driver's license, Desrosiers ventured out in search of other forgotten places, and in her 20s began taking photos and looking into histories.
"I was kind of in shock that these people looked like they had just picked up and left," she said.
In her travels, Desrosier has had people tell her stories about family disputes, foreclosures, unpaid taxes or the too-daunting thought and cost of renovation or restoration.
An inn remembered
One of the Granite State sites that caught Desrosiers' attention is the former Towne House Inn in Haverhill. It's said former owner Giacomo Iozzo one day packed a suitcase and walked out, locking the door and leaving the inn's rooms ready for guests, the bar stocked and the restaurant tables set.
Katie Leclerc, who knew Iozzo as Uncle Jack, shed some light on the folklore and sudden chain of events that left the building vacant for a couple of decades.
"He found out he had an aggressive form of cancer. He went to live with his sister, my great aunt Mary, in Somerville to live out the rest of his life, which wasn't long," said Leclerc, who was 18 when her granduncle died.
Over the years, the white paint faded and flaked off the rambling building, dust blanketed everything inside and vandals added damage and graffiti to an already deteriorating structure.
But in the last month, a flurry of fond memories has been posted on social media about the site.
"My aunt Barbara used to work there when I was child. It was like a castle with red carpet going up the staircase. My cousin and I used to swim in the pool while she worked. That was in the early '70s," Wendy Whitaker said on the Facebook page "Forgotten New Hampshire."
Leclerc remembers enjoying "pancakes and meatballs the size of my head," specially made by Iozzo, whom patrons and employees knew by another nickname, Jim.
Leclerc in 2012 went back to gather some mementoes, including towels with the inn's name, mugs and some things from the kitchen.
"I took some ladles .... and a cast iron frying pan for my grandma. Uncle Jack was an amazing chef, and she still cooks. They were very close."
No trespassing
The mystery of a seemingly abandoned site is a lure for history hunters, but Desrosiers stays clear of properties with "No Trespassing" signs and structures that are clearly unsafe to enter.
"I want to be respectful. I've been fortunate to have quite a few situations where I've gotten permission to enter — friends who know the property owners and know I have no ill intention," Desrosiers said.
The old inn and restaurant was sold to a new owner in recent years.
Over in Bethlehem, another site is taking on new life. The Maplewood Depot, one of many train stops that fueled the region's tourist boom after the Civil War, had been vacant for 100 years before being dismantled in 2021.
Bruce Caplain leads that effort, which involved getting detailed architectural measurements to be used as a blueprint for reimagining the old train station in a spot closer to the center of town.
"We have been working with donors, organizations and (possible) grants to see what we can do to raise money for the project," said Caplain who in 2008 purchased and lives in a restored 1880s sister station, the Bethlehem Depot.
"Abandoned Vermont and New Hampshire: Forgotten in the Mountains," by Marie Desrosiers, is published by Arcadia Publishing, with arrangement with Fonthill Media. It's available at area book shops and online.
